Verliebtheit
by WolfeyKitten
Summary: Fallout AU. Ludwig lives to follow his older brother's orders, so when he was instructed to protect the Italian vault-dwellers from Vault 27, he didn't think twice. Who could have guessed that it would be that order that would change his life forever? Gerita. Germany/Italy. Hetalia.
1. Chapter 1

_Ludwig lives to follow his older brother's orders, so when he was instructed to protect the Italian vault-dwellers from Vault 27, he didn't think twice. Who could have guessed that it would be that order that would change his life forever?_

_Pairing: Germany/Italy (Ludwig/Feliciano)_

_This fic is part of my Fallout series, If you haven't read Finem Pax Romana, this might not make much sense, but I'm trying my best to get them to stand alone! Comments are always appreciated, no matter what. Thank you!_

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_Verliebtheit, Chapter 1_

Ludwig was a simple man, he worked hard to protect his home and the ones close to him. Food might have been hard to come by out on the wasteland on most days, but when all else failed, his brother would always come through. Especially now, when the river was at its lowest and food was nearly impossible to find if you lived in such poverty as Ludwig's small family did. It was just him and his grandfather most of the year, but every now and again, he would see his obnoxious brother and his rambunctious friends he would haul around with him. But in all honesty, Ludwig considered Francis and Antonio to be as much of his family as Gilbert was. Ludwig could remember when Antonio joined the family, and he remembered that Francis had shown up just a few years afterwards. Now, there appeared to be this boy named Lovino that Antonio had picked up out of the vault that Ludwig was on his way to. Lovino wasn't loud like the other three, as far as Ludwig could tell, but he did have a mouth on him. He wondered if the other vault-dwellers would be anything like Lovino. He was about to find out, however, because that's where he was heading at the moment.

_"Hey, Luddy! I'm glad I caught you. Look, I got this thing that I need you to do, okay?"_

Ludwig remembered how he had been instructed by his older brother to go protect the little Italian vault-dwellers, and that there was clean water and cool air in it for him.

_"Antonio says somebody's gotta go down there to do it, says Lovi can't even shoot a rifle! Can you believe that, little brother? I know, it's tragic. Anywho, this is your job so don't fuck it up. Do whatever ya want, but Antonio says he doesn't want any dead Italians, alright? Don't worry, most of them are pretty cute. There's like, no dirt on any of them, it's really cool."_

Ludwig knitted his brow together at the memory of this morning's conversation with Gilbert. He was told to leave his tiny home in Radwater, for periodic trips, to look after these defenseless people. He wasn't about to argue, but now that he's gone, who was going to protect Radwater? He has been the only one on the town's poor excuse for a police force, so he assumed that it didn't really matter too much anyways. The delicate people in the vault were probably in a lot more danger than the rough humans out on the wasteland. Ludwig, zoning out as he thought of his orders, nearly tripped over a rock in the dark tunnel that he was trekking down.

His instructions had been vague and unusual, but after attempting to talk to Antonio and Francis about his mission, he managed to piece together some achievable orders. From what he had been told, he was nearly to the entrance of the vault. It was supposed to be open; they apparently weren't bothered enough to close the door.

And open it was, when Ludwig finally reached the end of the hidden stone tunnel, the huge metal threshold was open for any and all to cross. It _did _look extremely dangerous for the people within, especially with the mess he caused with the local rat population on the way in. He stepped through a metal door at the end of the tunnel, and his boots fell heavily on a metal floor. He moved quickly over the grates, stepping up a small staircase and through the open vault door. He paused to look around.

The room he found himself in was nothing like he had ever seen before. The walls were made of metal plates and buttons and levers. Pistons could be heard making so much noise that it seemed as if the entire room was alive and moving. He slowly proceeded forward, his eyes darting about the metal room as he ascended up yet another shallow staircase. He was expecting to be deep into the vault before he saw any of the inhabitants, as Antonio had described to him, so he was rather startled when he noticed a slumped form leaning against the back wall of the room.

The form was a human, his eyes were closed and his lips were slightly parted. His hair was messy and light brown, auburn almost. There was a rifle laying across his lap. It looked to Ludwig that this boy was nearly identical to Lovino. His hair was a much lighter color, but otherwise, they could have been twins.

For a moment Ludwig stood and stared at the person against the wall, raising one eyebrow. _Is he dead?_ He saw the boy's chest rising and falling. _No, good._

Ludwig gripped his own rifle in his hands and slowly started moving again. He paced up to the sleeping form against the wall and began to wonder what he was supposed to do about this boy. Crouching down to eye level, the German poked at the boy's face with the tip of his rifle.

"Hello?" His head just lolled to one side and he made a small noise. Ludwig furrowed his eyebrows and prodded again.

"_Aufwachen!" _He shouted, making the little Italian jump and open his eyes. The boy looked at Ludwig for a brief moment, until his amber eyes darted to the end of Ludwig's shabby rifle. His eyes darted back up to meet Ludwig's and he screamed.

"Ahh! What are you doing here! If you're here for food then just follow the hallway and keep left okay? I won't stop you just go ahead and take everything you want! Just please don't shoot me with that big scary gun pleeeaaase please please, I don't want to die! I much too young and pretty to die, yeah?!"

Ludwig watched in astonishment as the Italian went on and on. He stood up, putting his weapon away.

"I'm not going to hurt you. I'm not here for the food, either."

The Italian just kept going. "No no no no you're here to take our food and my grandpa said that I'm supposed to be guarding the door but nothing was happening and then I got so tired so I thought I could take a little nap! I didn't think that anything else would show up! Please don't hurt me!"

_What. _Ludwig kept watching the Italian ramble on. _Who put this idiot in charge of the door?_

"No, I, my brother..."

"No I told you where the food is, just take it and get out please! Without hurting anyone or taking anyone's brother!" The little Italian boy pressed himself into the wall behind him. _Brother..? Oh. Lovino, right. This boy is Feliciano._

"Feliciano!" This shut Feli up. "Antonio sent me to take care of you and your family, _ja_? Do you remember Antonio?"

The Italian's face twisted from a look of fear to an expression of joy within the heartbeat.

"Oh, _sí! _You know my _fratello _then? _Molto bene! _How is he? He is okay isn't he? What's your name? Are you that white-haired guy's brother? What was his name, Gilbert or something? I don't know, it was something really weird. You both talk the same! Only you seem a lot more serious..."

Ludwig frowned at the sudden questions he was pelted with, some of which he couldn't quite understand. This boy wasn't at all like his brother. Lovino _had_ warned him about Feli being a little... strange.

"Uh, _ja._ Lovino is well. My name is Ludwig, and yes, Gilbert is my brother."

"Oh! Nice to meet you, Ludwig! I guess you already know my name, but you can call me Feli. How old are you? I mean, I hope that's not a weird question and all... I was just wondering because you don't look that old or anything, you just sort of look like a kid, like me! Well, I guess I'm not really a kid, but-"

"I'm sixteen." Ludwig cut him off.

"Oh really? Me too! That's kinda weird, huh?" _This kid is sixteen? He looks a lot younger than that..._

"Anyways, are you here to be my friend, Ludwig? Oh boy I hope we can be friends..."

"Uh, well, I'm really here to protect you, but I guess... Sure. _Ja, _we can be friends." Ludwig was sure that he didn't mean what he said, but something about this friendly Italian says he might change his mind. He wondered how much of his loud voice he could take before he bolted out of this hole. No wonder his brother was so eager to bug out. Luckily, he had a high tolerance for inconveniences when he was given direct orders, so the little Italian didn't bother him yet. In fact, Ludwig figured that he was kind of cute, so excited at the mere mention of his brother.

"Do you think you can take me to... Whoever is in charge here?"

Feliciano winced. "Well, Ludwig, that would be my grandpa, and I don't really think that would be a good idea..."

"And why is that?"

"He's still really upset about Lovino leaving. I tried to tell him that it was what Lovi wanted, but he just won't listen to me at all! I don't think he would be too happy to see another outsider any time soon!"

Oh, great. Well, the new information didn't change the fact that Ludwig had a job to do. His orders were to protect the Italians in this vault, and that's what he was going to do. But Feliciano did have a point, Ludwig could understand that the Italian's grandfather would be a little reluctant to make any outside friends right now, especially after they took his grandson away. Ludwig made a decision. He sat down next to the little Italian and sighed.

"Then I guess we can't let him know that I'm here."

Feliciano's eyes lit up. "You mean like a secret?"

"Yes, exactly like a secret."

"Wow, I never keep any secrets! I think this will be lots of fun! You're going to have to be really sneaky, Ludwig. I'll work on being sneaky, too! It'll be like in the comic books!" Ludwig raised an eyebrow. What a strange boy.

"Are you the only one who comes down here?"

Feliciano frowned for a moment before he spoke. "Er.. Not exactly. I come done here a lot, though! Not a little of people like it down here because of all the radroaches that sometimes show up, but I don't mind them. Sometimes they can be nice if you stay reeaally quiet. Then they are kinda cute! But when grandpa found out I was playing with the roaches he was not too happy... But he still sends me down here anyways because I'm one of the only ones who can stand it! It's still not as fun without Lovino, but he always told me not to be a baby, so that's what I'm trying to do."

The words just kept spilling out of the little Italian's mouth. The long blurbs of speech would leave Ludwig a little confused and astounded, but he was learning to get used to them quickly. He nodded at Feliciano.

"Do you miss your brother already?"

"_Sí!_ But it's not as bad as I thought it would be... Grandpa was really upset, but he wasn't upset at me or anything, I don't even think he was mad at Lovino! Just, disappointed I think... And kinda mad at Antonio for taking Lovi away. He says that none of us are allowed to leave ever, even though the door is open now. He says that it's really dangerous outside and we could be killed. Is that true Ludwig? Is it dangerous outside?"

Ludwig nodded, thinking before speaking. "_Ja,_ there are lots of things out there to kill you, and not a lot of food. It you aren't careful, you could..." Ludwig didn't want Feli to fear for the life of his older brother, so he decided to simply stop talking.

Feli waited for him to continue. When he didn't, Feliciano asked, "you could what?"

"...You could end up like my brother and I. With nothing but a couple of useless friends and shabby survival skills." Ludwig decided that that answer was a little better than telling Feli that you could easily end up dead.

"What is it like outside?"

Ludwig lifted an eyebrow. This boy had never been outside in his life. Ludwig found that a little strange and amazing at the same time.

"Well, the sun is very bright, and it's really hot during this time of the year. In the mornings it's chilly, but that's nothing compared to the freezing cold winter." Ludwig paused, feeling of the air around him. "Does it feel this nice year-round?"

Feli looked a little confused. "Um, _sí, _I think. I mean, sometimes I get a little cold, but not usually..."

Ludwig only chuckled and leaned his head against the metal wall behind him. His muscles were finally starting to relax as he grew slightly more accustomed to this strange Italian's happy-go-lucky attitude.

"I find it hard to believe that Lovino is faring as well as he is in the summer heat when he's had this luxury all his life. He must be a little more uncomfortable than he's letting on."

"Yeah, Lovino never was one to be very open about his feelings, and I doubt he would ever _really _let anyone know if he was hurting... But he sure does like to complain a lot! I'm sure he's driving Antonio crazy!"

Ludwig was actually a little stunned by Feliciano's grasp on the situation. Lovino had described him as a little dim-witted, and though he came off as that at first, he seemed to understand what was going on fairly well. On top of that, Ludwig didn't feel uncomfortable as he talked to the little vault dweller. Usually he would close up around strangers, and Gilbert would do all of the talking. But not with Feli. Ludwig felt like he could tell Feliciano anything, despite having known him for only a few minutes now. The little Italian was charming and open and even a little cute as he talked about his life in the vault upon being questioned by Ludwig.

"Well, I don't really have much to compare it with, but grandpa says that we should be grateful that we get to live in the vault. That's why he and Lovi fought a lot. I really like living in here though! The food is pretty good, as long as you cook it right! Sometimes I think me and Lovi and grandpa are the only ones around that _can_ cook, to be honest."

Ludwig's stomach growled at the mention of food. He had eaten this morning, so he didn't feel the need to complain. He kept his mouth closed and listened to Feli speak, nodding at his words.

"We wake up in the mornings, eat our breakfast, that's usually a muffin and it's really gross, and then we get started on our chores. Lovi never really liked doing chores, he always ended up making more of a mess out of everything than actually getting things clean. I kind of like chores though! Especially once a week when me and Lovi would come down here and shoot at radroaches. At first I was really scared, but Lovi wasn't. My big brother is so brave, wow. He taught me to stop being so scared of bugs all the time!"

Ludwig started to zone out, barely listening to the Italian's rapid fire of words. He looked remarkably like his brother, Feliciano did, he had the same pretty features and clean skin. His hair was much lighter and his attitude was much more tolerable, and over all, they didn't seem to act anything alike. Feliciano was friendly and outgoing compared to Lovi's closed in personality and his wall of harsh words. Ludwig preferred this loud Italian to Lovino by a long shot, it was nice not being drilled with insults for once. But it's not like he spent a lot of time with the short-tempered vault-dweller, but the moments he did spend with him were enough to derail a potential friendship. Feliciano, however, was another story completely.

The cute boy talked on and on and Ludwig felt as though he could listen to his melodic voice forever. The sentences that spilled out of his mouth sounded like they were being sung, and it was very pleasing to Ludwig's ears. He knew his own voice must sound terribly rough to Feliciano, but it didn't really bother him. He just kept listening to Feli speak about anything and everything for quite some time. Before he knew it, Feliciano was telling him that his shift was over.

"Ludwig, I have to go back upstairs soon! What are you going to do when I'm gone?"

Ludwig looked up at Feli with tired eyes as the Italian stood up and stretched his arms high over his head. He shrugged.

"I will have to sleep down here, I guess." Feli looked utterly disgusted at the notion of Ludwig spending the night on the cold reactor level.

"What! You can't sleep down here! There aren't even any beds! How are you going to sleep without a bed?" The very question would have been enough to make Ludwig break into a fit of laughter, had he not been determined to hold a straight face. _Aren't even any beds,_ what a silly notion, he thought. He didn't even sleep in a bed in his own home; the only bed in the house was reserved for his grandfather.

"That doesn't bother me at all, Feli. I haven't slept on a bed since I was little."

Feliciano looked appalled. "What!? That's horrible! I still can't leave you down here by yourself, to sleep on the floor!"

"Don't worry, I'll be fine. Is anyone going to come down for a night shift?"

"Night…shift? Um... Maybe, I don't know... Probably. I'll be back tomorrow though!"

Ludwig found himself to be actually excited by the thought of seeing Feli again so soon. At least he wasn't going to be alone all day, like he had originally thought. Maybe one day, the overseer of the vault will let him in deeper...

"Ok. I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Yeah!" Feli was obviously reluctant to leave the German, but he turned himself to the door regardless. "_Ciao,_ Luddy!" Ludwig blinked in slight surprise when he heard that nickname. "Oh, and try not to explore the reactor level too much," the Italian tensed a little. "I mean, you might get lost.. or hurt!"

"Okay?" He waved goodbye as the Italian stepped through a metal portal that screeched to a close behind him. Now alone, he wondered why Feliciano had issued that warning. He shrugged it off. Like he could get lost or hurt here. Ha.

He stood up after a few seconds, stretching his shoulder blades. He was expecting a night guard, so he needed to find somewhere to hide when someone else came down. He scanned the room with his tired eyes.

To the opposite side of the platform from where Feliciano had exited, there was another door. Ludwig padded towards it, stopping to look questioningly at the control panel in the wall next to the door. He pressed a big green button experimentally, and the door suddenly slid open and made Ludwig jump. He stepped through it cautiously. The next room was full of machinery blocks and pistons and steam. The feeling the room gave him made the German somewhat uneasy as he proceeded forwards, readying his weapon as he went. His gut told him that he was not alone, that someone or something was lurking just around the corner. He felt the sensation of eyes on him in the dark, but he swallowed the annoying sensation and kept alert.

Weak motion activated lights flickered to life after a few steps, and the once dark room made itself dimly visible to Ludwig. He thought he heard something shuffle in an incomprehensible direction, so he swiveled his weapon to point as many places as he could aim. Nothing.

He lowered the weapon and raised an eyebrow. This place was giving him the eeby jeebies. However, he kept walking. Unfamiliar territory or not, Ludwig was a man, and wasn't about to back down to a few creaking pipes and ghosted movements. There was another door at the end of the room, so he repeated the process of pressing the green button. That turned out to be a bad idea however, when two radroaches turned out to be hiding in the next room.

The door slid open and they hissed at the sudden light, rearing their ugly forelegs and antennae going wild. Ludwig quickly slammed the control to close the door.

He turned around to eye up the room he was in. The door that he had come through had since resealed itself, and still he felt this gnawing anxiety that he was not alone. The scrabbling of paws could almost be heard through the sound of moving pistons. Ludwig concentrated his ears on the sound that he thought he had heard, and sure enough, he could hear a high pitched whining coming from somewhere in the room. His head swiveled to the side, searching for the source of the sound.

To his right, there was a large block of machinery. He cautiously stepped forward, closer to the block. There was enough space in between the block and the wall, enough that he could fit through without hassle, so he kept stepping forward, behind the machinery in search of the sound.

Nothing, but the whines continued. Ludwig peeked his head around the edge of the block, and at the end of the way, behind a separate block, he could see a huddled mass pressing itself against the opposite wall. Bright green eyes glared menacingly back at Ludwig, and he nearly jumped right out of his skin.

The mass was large and dark, shadowed by the machines and shielded from the dim light of the fluorescents overhead. The animal's body shook and it lifted its muzzle to stare back at Ludwig, sharp whines coming from its throat.

Ludwig waited. He was sure the beast was injured, and his theory proved even more likely when he noticed the dried blood that streaked the floor. He stepped closer, rifle loaded with the beast in his sights. It scrabbled back into the wall, and Ludwig noticed a few features of its body that stuck out. It was massive for an animal, its foreleg was wrapped in a blood-soaked bandage and brown and black fur covered its long face. Half of one of its pointed ears was missing, and a long, pink scar streaked through the fur of its flank. Ludwig lowered his weapon, recognition and disbelief flooding over him.

"Blackie..?" _Lost my ass, that Italian was hiding something. _The animal barked dryly, recognizing its own name. Blackie had been given to Ludwig as a puppy by his older brother. However, Ludwig had never expected to see her again, especially not in a place like this.

"Blackie, how did you get here, girl?" The huge dog just barked again, attempting to raise itself off of the ground, to no avail. She remained glued to the ground, putting her head on her front paws and whining softly. She was a lot larger than Ludwig had remembered.

Blackie and Ludwig had been separated _years _ago. How could she have turned up in this vault? Ludwig noticed that an empty bowl had been sitting next to the giant mass of fur.

Ludwig's gun fell to his side as he shuffled forward, stunned to have run into Blackie in a place like this. Her thickly furred tail began to beat back and forth softly as he approached, and her muzzle lifted to Ludwig's scent. Ludwig knelt down beside the wounded dog disbelievingly, and reached to give her a scratch between the ears. Her tail beat against the floor rhythmically, and Ludwig's scratching earned him a weak lick to the face. Her tongue was nearly as wide as Ludwig's face; he would definitely recall if she had been this big before.

"You've grown a little, haven't you, girl?"

'A little' was a bit of an understatement. As Ludwig knelt beside Blackie, her shoulders were easily level with his own, if not taller. Her face was broad and wolfish, and her brown and black fur was matted heavily. The dog's middle would be more like a barrel if it wasn't so thin from starvation. This mutated animal could hardly be considered a dog anymore.

Ludwig leaned against his old companion, letting his hand rake through the snarled fur. She seemed to enjoy the attention, because after a few moments of petting her fur, Ludwig could tell that she had fallen asleep. Soft movements of breaths flooding in and out of the animal relaxed Ludwig, and it wasn't long before he joined his long-lost companion in a much-appreciated sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter 2_

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"You've _never _seen the night sky?"

"Well, I've seen it in plenty of picture books and stuff. It's kinda cool I guess. Why are you asking? You know I've never been outside, Luddy!"

"I just find it hard to believe, that's all. Having been brought up under the stars, it's an odd idea that there are people who've never seen it before."

Ludwig stroked his rough hand through Blackie's thick fur as he lay against her, his eyes staring blankly forward as he spoke to Feliciano. Blackie's breaths were long and deep; she was sleeping. After all, it was the middle of the night at this point, according to Feli's Pip-boy at least.

Ludwig had been in the vault for three… four nights now? He couldn't quite remember; the days seemed to blur together without the aid of the sun's natural clock. He remembered a few mornings ago when Feli had discovered him sleeping with Blackie, which turned into a bit of a disaster with a distressed Feli on the site. The Italian, after a bit of questioning, explained that Blackie had wandered inside the day before, broken and hungry. The kind-hearted vault-dweller couldn't help but give the friendly animal some food and shelter. Now, however, they all sat together in a heap in the chamber that contained the massive vault door.

"I've never really thought too much about it, the night sky, not like Lovino always did. Grandpa always told us when we were little not to daydream about the outside, because it'll just end up making us sad that we can't go out there. That never stopped Lovi though." Feliciano yawned.

Ludwig could tell how tired Feliciano was becoming, and he wondered what was keeping the Italian up. He didn't mind having his company though, in fact, he rather liked the time he spent with Feliciano. It gave him something to look forward to between Feli's shifts, and when they were together, Ludwig could lose himself in Feli's melodic accent while the time sped by, leaving him waiting for Feliciano to return again in the end.

As far as he could tell, the overseer and all of the other vault-dwellers were still oblivious to his presence. He had been extra careful to avoid the detection of others when Feli was away, either leaving the vault for the cave, which wasn't preferable, or taking refuge in one of the other chambers of the seemingly endless vault. Of course he took care to mask Blackie as well, but it was often hard to hid such a large monster in such a small place. Ludwig feared that he might have to take Blackie back home to Radwater, either that or evict him from Ludwig's companionship altogether, again. But Ludwig was going to try avoiding that solution. After all, he rather liked Blackie.

"So you don't want to go outside at all?" He asked.

"I guess I am a _little _curious, but it sounds really scary out there. I don't know if I'm cut out for going outside. Plus, grandpa would never allow it."

"What if he never knew?" Feliciano looked slightly appalled by Ludwig's insinuation.

"But Luddy, that would mean breaking the rules! I could never!"

"We are breaking the rules right now, aren't we?" Ludwig didn't know why he was trying so hard to convince Feli to go outside, just once. It _was _very dangerous. Maybe he just wanted to show him how beautiful the sky looked at this time of night.

"But that's different!"

"How so?"

Feliciano was flustered, stranded without an answer. "Because... not going outside has been a rule my entire life! Not talking to outsiders has been a rule for like, a week now? It's not near as bad!"

Ludwig accepted Feli's argument, no matter how ridiculous it was. Rules were rules, but he realized that Feli probably wasn't going to change his mind any time soon. He just kept stroking his massive dog's rough fur as he leaned against her and chatted with Feliciano. He should have been tired by this time of night, but for some reason the wariness that he should be experiencing only dusted the outer rim of The German's consciousness, and he felt wide awake despite the time.

He sighed. At some point in time, he was going to have to leave the vault to check in with his grandfather back in Radwater. He didn't like thinking about the trek he was going to have to make in the next few days, and he feared that slacking off in this vault for the last couple of days had made him lethargic and soft. Whatever it was, he was dreading leaving this vault behind for a day or two. His brother and his friends were scheduled to leave for the city tomorrow, if all was going as planned with Lovino's training. He knew that if he left tomorrow morning, he would still probably miss them, but Ludwig wasn't complaining _too _much. Gilbert and his friends could be a little too eccentric for Ludwig most of the time. He decided not to worry about it quite yet, and instead take advantage of this time spent with Feliciano. He reminded himself to savor this moment, for whatever reason, it felt like it should mean something to him.

They sat in silence for a few moments. Ludwig didn't mind the quiet, however, it only felt natural and peaceful. He was all too aware of the presence of Feliciano sitting cross-legged next to him, fiddling with the cuff of his blue vault suit contentedly and tiredly. Ludwig angled his head to look at the Italian. His light skin was flawless, his auburn hair was perfect, even his half-lidded brown eyes were absolutely beautiful and bright as they sparkled, partially concealed by his eyelids. A soft smile graced over his lips, stretching until his teeth where visible as his eyes remained fixed on his sleeve.

"What is it?" Ludwig asked, unsure as to why. So Feli smiled. He smiles constantly. Why was this smile, the smile cast sitting alone with Ludwig in the usually dark, lonely hours of the night, so much more precious than the others?

Feli looked at him, his smile was sweet and innocent, and Ludwig was almost compelled to return the smile. "I like you, Ludwig."

Oh. Ludwig's stomach fluttered, even though he knew that Feli's words probably meant nothing. For reasons unknown to him, Ludwig _wanted _Feliciano's words to have a meaning beyond his cute little smile. For some reason he hoped they did.

Instead of entertaining these silly thoughts, Ludwig decided to reply.

"I like you too." The words sounded even more silly in his mouth than they had in his head.

The Italian cocked his head, eyes squeezing shut and hair bouncing into his face as he did so. "Oh good! I'm so glad we can be friends Luddy, best of friends actually. Am I your best friend, Ludwig?"

"Of course," Ludwig can't believe that he actually meant it. Growing up, he never really had time for friends. His brother had friends enough for them both, even if they weren't around much.

"Oh that's fantastic Ludwig! Does that mean you'll never leave me?" Is that where this was going? Ludwig frowned.

"Actually, I was planning on leaving soon." Feli's smile vanished. "But not for long, I promise I'll be back." He added quickly.

"How soon?" Feli's voice cracked slightly, and Ludwig felt awful for ruining Feli's bright smile like this.

He thought carefully. "Tomorrow."

Feliciano visibly drooped all over, and Ludwig's heart fell slightly. He hated seeing Feli get upset, but there was nothing he could do. He had duties to his grandfather and to his town.

"I'll be back before you even realize I've gone, it will only be a few days, maybe less." Feli brightened slightly at the new information.

"Oh, okay... You'll be safe, right? Nothing bad's going to happen to you?"

"I'll be fine."

"Why are up leaving?"

Ludwig sighed. Of course Feliciano was going to ask every possible question. "I told my grandfather that I would be back soon."

"What if I need you when you're gone?"

"You'll have Blackie." He nodded to the dog behind him, who's ear twitched at the familiar sound of her name.

"You're not taking Blackie with you?"

"She would do you a lot more good than she would do me, as long as you keep her hidden."

"Are you sure?"

"Feliciano. I'm going to be fine." Ludwig saw Feli's concern as somewhat cute. Sixteen years he spent living on the wasteland, it's not like he was going to brake both of his legs the minute he stepped outside. The better question was: would Feli be okay in the time that Ludwig spent away from the vault? Surely he had nothing to worry about, but still, the anxiety of leaving the helpless vault-dweller alone for a few days was a little unnerving. Feliciano glanced down at the light of his pip-boy, reading the time.

"I'm supposed to go upstairs." That was all he said. When he didn't continue, Ludwig attempted to say goodnight, like he had every time Feli declared that it was time to depart.

"Hmm, well, goodn-"

"I don't want to go upstairs, Luddy." Feliciano cut Ludwig off, looking at him with tired eyes.

"Isn't someone else supposed to be coming down?"

"Not if I don't wake her up. Besides, Maria knows about you anyways!"

"Who? You told someone about me?" Ludwig was a little shocked, however, if Feli trusted this 'Maria' person enough to tell her, then he could respect that, even if he saw it as a little reckless.

"Don't worry, Maria would never tell on me! She's really nice and doesn't mind keeping you a secret at all."

"Maria... Who is she?"

Feli thought for a moment, his eyes lighting up. "Have I not mentioned her to you yet? She's one of my best friends! She's a little bit younger than me, but she's also a whole lot tougher than me too. She could probably beat me up if we ever got in a fight, even though she doesn't look like she could... I would never ever fight her though because she's really nice and super pretty!"

Ludwig thought that he knew who Feliciano was referring too. In all of the time that he had spent hiding just outside of the vault awaiting Feli's return, he had only caught a glimpse of one other person. "And she's your... friend."

"Yep! Maybe you can meet her sometime!" Ludwig figured it to be rude or awkward to pry more into the topic, so he decided to drop it for now. He would find out more about Maria as time went on.

"_Ja, _perhaps." As much as he wanted Feli to stay with him, one look at the Italian's drooping eyes made him think against it. "But right now, you need to get upstairs and get some sleep. I won't be here when you come down tomorrow, okay?"

Feli's shoulders sank and a frown spread over his lips as he stood from his sitting position, erasing the smile that had just been there. "Oh... but don't you want to meet Maria?" He said through a yawn as he stretched his arms above his head and arched his back.

"Maybe another day, Feli." Honestly, he was rather indecisive over the thought of meeting Maria. He wasn't sure how much he could trust her, but he was still dying to know more.

"Oh," Feliciano paused. "Goodnight then... see you in a day or two?"

"Or three, _ja_." Feliciano gave a little wave and a tired, cute smile before turning and vanishing through the portal. A final "_Ciao_, Luddy!" could be heard on his way out.

As Ludwig watched Feliciano make his way out of the chamber, all he could hold in his mind was the image of Feli's sweet face and his adorable little giggle. He shook his head, unable to get the thoughts out of his mind. They've been festering there for days now, relentlessly tearing through his head until they were all that was left. He knew what they meant, and hell no, he wasn't having any of it.

Besides, by the time that Feli woke tomorrow afternoon, Ludwig was well on his way back to Radwater, and it would be a long time before he returned to vault 27.

* * *

_Maria is San Marino (A little Italian country inside of Italy) (Shh I'm creative with names, yes I am)_

_A/N: Thank you guys so much for putting up with my slow-ass updates(*Shakes fist angrily at junior year*) Just putting this out there, the amount of reviews I get on anything ever translates directly to how soon I can get the chapters out, so if you like my stories, it would be appreciated if you drop a review.(Same goes for Finem Pax Romana) If you see a spelling or grammar mistake, you are encouraged to PM me and explain me a thing or two with harsh words and/or caps lock. ALSO: Verliebtheit is NOT going to be near as long as Finem Pax Romana, so the chapters are shorter. Sorry. Despite my obvious motives to ruin your night with short-ass chapters, love you guys, see you in a few years (Or however long it takes me to get these chapters up, damn)_


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